New York and Atlanta have already gotten the Tom Wolfe treatment. This time it’s Miami. This is my 50 Shades of Grey!

I’m going to make a complete 100 favorite novels of all time guide by ADP one of these days. It’s going to be good. But until then, I have books, articles and blog posts for you that are 100% worth your time:

Book-shaped objects

1. An Object of Beauty: A Novel by Steve Martin: Ooooh, loved it. Lacey was like a nicer version of Janey Wilcox from Trading Up (Candace Bushnell) and the book gave me a great refresher on art history. I’ve missed it. As my mom says, “Is there anything Steve Martin can’t do? He acts, he sings, he writes, and he’s great at all of it!”

2. Detroit City Is the Place to Be: The Afterlife of an American Metropolis by Mark Binelli: Don’t tell me you haven’t looked on the MLS and thought about buying 5 homes for $5 dollars in Detroit. For four quarters you can own a house. It’s crazy. It’s lawless. It’s Detroit. Great read for you urban planners or anyone interested in ghost towns and nostalgia for a really long-gone era.

3. Back to Blood: A Novel by Tom Wolfe: I know! I’m so excited too! He hasn’t had a new one out since I Am Charlotte Simmons and I love the worlds that Tom Wolfe paints. It’s gotten mixed reviews so far but I’ve never judged how much I like a book by its reviews (you should apply the same philosophy to restaurants: Yelp reviews are not worth a hoot!). And of course, you know this quote.

Finance-themed blogs

What is Options Time Decay? by DQYDJ: Must read. Even if you really understand options, as our friends warn you to, I don’t recommend it for everyone. In my experience, I was able to be profitable with options only when completing my trades within a matter of days (preferably just one or two) and not very close to the options expiration date. I lost money when I held onto options hoping to get back into the money at the last minute. It was like roulette, a little sad and a little ugly.

Money Mamba gave us The Best Industries to Invest In which led me to CROIC. Seriously people, he’s just giving us gold here.

Jana at Daily Money Shot threatened to quit blogging (or thought about it at least) but I’m glad it’s not happening. Side note: She is also really cool in person.

Marissa pretty much gave the thesis on How to Market Your Blog Like a Startup. Hey Marissa, can you outsource someone to do all that for me?

Financial Uproar told y’all It’s Time to Take the Next Step. Nelson is your quintessential “hooker with a heart of gold”*. He’s a little rough around the edges, but he writes the most interesting, valuable posts. Side note: I’ve been investing these real estate forums in my area and learning about the real estate note (same as private mortgages) business. I can’t make a move until mid-year but will write on this in the coming weeks.

Erin from Dog Ate My Wallet had a lot of great posts these past two weeks, but my favorite was I Would Rather Work at McDonald’s.

I don’t know how I found this post, but I loved Paintings for Poor People from Glitter & Goat Cheese (I love both those things too!).

Rounding out the pack was Time’s Is Most Personal Finance Advice Useless?  I scanned the article and did not find the sentence, “Blogs like American Debt Project are written by self-centered ninnies who can’t get over themselves.” From the article: “My greater concern is that at least some of them (personal finance blogs) are so wedded to the concept of self-help that they are blaming the victim for greater economic trends.” Touche!

*Not an actual hooker. No hookers were harmed in the making of this blog post.